Links, 6.27.11

Big summer milestone for our family this week: the first day trip to the beach (or, as we say here in New Jersey, “down the Shore”). The waves were awesome.

Speed sleuthing: How to identify the photographer who took the images in a 69 year old album without any captions? That’s a difficult photo detective challenge. Unless you’re the New York Times and Der Spiegel, the German newsweekly, which published some of the World War II images online. Thanks to tips from viewers, within three hours they had an identity for the Nazi photographer who took photos of soldiers, prisoners of war and a close-up of Adolf Hitler.

More detective work: A Maine woman who found a mysterious ring inscribed” CCD to MAL, Dec. 25 1880″ on a beach in Kittery was able to return it to a descendant of the owner. Genealogists who saw news reports about the ring helped with the legwork.

Flamed: The burned courthouse is the specter that lurks in every genealogist’s nightmares. Atlanta Journal-Constitution columnist Kenneth Thomas offers tips on how to stop panicking and find ways around destroyed records.

Reverse migration: The New York Times also had an interesting story about why young African Americans are choosing to leave the Northeast and settle in places like Charlotte, N.C., in a turnaround from the Great Migration of the early 20th century.

Tombstone mystery: In St. Paul, Minn., authorities are puzzling over a gravestone that turned up on a city street. Spotted by a passerby, the stone is marked “Marie Olsen, 1879-1932.” Local authorities have found a few Marie or Mary Olsens who died in 1932, but none were born in 1879.

What Kudrow Thinks:Lisa Kudrow, producer of the U.S. edition of Who Do You Think You Are, discusses how she hopes a switch in category will get the show the Emmy nomination that eluded it last year — and reflects on the second season, which included Rosie O’Donnell, Vanessa Williams and Tim McGraw, among others.

Enjoy the week — can you believe Independence Day is just around the corner?